Recently, the South Korean trendy fashion brand Mardi Mercredi announced the closure of all its offline stores in China and ceased operations of its mini-program store. The brand, which entered the Chinese market in 2022, has decided to completely withdraw after a little over two years of operation.
Starting from October this year, Mardi Mercredi began to gradually shut down its stores. According to a report from DaXiang News on November 2, two stores in Beijing Chaoyang Heshenghui and Xidan Joy City closed in mid-October, offering up to 50% discount clearance sales before shutting down. Subsequently, stores in cities like Changsha, Wenzhou, and Shanghai followed suit, with the brand’s customer service stating that all offline stores in China would cease operations by the end of October.
Mardi Mercredi’s official mini-program store announced in October that it would cease operations from October 31 and terminate its member points and level services. After-sales and customer service will be terminated on November 8. The notice mentioned that members could transfer their points and levels to the Raive and Rest&Recreation brands before the deadline, otherwise, the points would automatically expire.
On social media platforms, some consumers commented that the brand had a short store opening time and had not yet stabilized its customer base. Others pointed out that prices were high, with a sweatshirt priced at over 500 yuan, and a down jacket close to 2,600 yuan, which limited its competitiveness. Some netizens also mentioned that although the brand had a distinct logo, its styles were slow to update, leading to a noticeable decrease in repeat purchases.
In 2022, Mardi Mercredi initially tested the Chinese market through online channels before opening its first store in Shanghai’s Port Huihong Long Plaza in August 2023. Over the next year and a half, it expanded into second-tier cities like Beijing, Chengdu, Qingdao, and Nanjing, establishing a total of 28 stores.
The brand’s distributor, Mandoya (Shanghai) Brand Management Co., Ltd., stated that the store closures were part of a group’s operational adjustment, with future resources being focused on the two new brands, Raive and Rest&Recreation. In Xidan Joy City, Beijing, the original store has been replaced by a Rest&Recreation barricade. The mall confirmed that the new brand is expected to open before the end of the year.
While official statistics from the Chinese government suggest a “continuous increase in total social retail sales,” industry experts believe that this growth is mainly driven by price and structural adjustments, and actual purchasing power has not fully recovered. In the Beijing Wangjing New Town area, where Kaidun MALL is one of the earlier comprehensive shopping centers, a clothing merchant named Sun Li stated that over the past year, many brands have gradually withdrawn: “Customers are getting fewer, many brands have left, including Korean ones and cosmetics brands. The remaining major brands are paying lower rents to maintain a presence in the mall.”
Ms. Li from Wenzhou, who previously worked in the fashion industry in Beijing, mentioned that in the past two years, many Korean trendy brands have downsized their physical presence in China: “The consumer’s purchasing power has decreased, and rents are high, so many brands have turned to e-commerce for sales. It’s difficult for offline stores to sustain themselves now.”
She added that online sales remain the primary channel for foreign brands in China. After closing physical stores, they may maintain sales volume in the short term but impact brand exposure and image in the long run. It is understood that many international trendy brands in China are shrinking their physical presence, a phenomenon commonly observed in various commercial districts.
An analyst in the Chinese fashion industry said that foreign trendy brands have been downsizing their offline presence in China over the past two years, closely related to changes in consumer levels. Beijing scholar Zhou Wenqing pointed out that the primary group that once supported the expansion of trendy brands comprised young women and middle-class consumers, but their spending is now tightening, signaling a transitional period in the clothing industry.
Zhou Wenqing mentioned that the peak of Korean brands in China was concentrated between 2017 and 2021. Subsequently, with rising rents, inventory, copyright risks, and tariff burdens, many companies have shifted their focus to Southeast Asian markets or online operations. “The brand’s fan base is still there, but market enthusiasm has significantly declined.”
Another scholar specializing in Sino-South Korean fashion trade pointed out that profits in Chinese urban retail continue to shrink, with shopping malls becoming more cautious in attracting trendy brands. E-commerce platforms are capturing the majority of the traffic, and the high maintenance costs of physical spaces pose challenges. “The decline of Korean trendy brands in China reflects a simultaneous adjustment of middle-class consumption and foreign fashion reorientation.”
Since 2022, apart from Mardi Mercredi, several foreign and Japanese-Korean trendy brands have successively closed stores in China. Japanese brand BEAMS, Korean 8Seconds, French Sézane, and British Topshop have either stopped expanding in China or completely exited the market. While Zara, H&M, and other large fast-fashion brands are still present, their sales growth has slowed, and the number of stores has decreased.
Industry analysts point out that after three years of the pandemic, Chinese consumers are gravitating toward practical consumption, leading the clothing industry into a phase of “de-branding” and “price competition,” making it challenging for foreign trendy brands to maintain their original profit margins.
Scholars believe that the decline of Korean brands in China not only reflects a decrease in middle-class expenditure but also signifies a restructuring of the retail landscape. The future of foreign fashion in China will depend on whether market confidence and consumer purchasing power can be rebuilt.